Saving Storybrooke
by Raeinspace
Summary: Cora and Ruby have to go and save the town, find out what happened to everyone. Sequel to Secret Love. RedQueen(?)


**Disclaimer: I don't own OUAT.**

 **AN: Sequel to Secret Love.**

* * *

Chapter 1.

They took Ruby's car straight into town, Henry talking all the way. Cora felt tense, worried.

"It was the middle of the day. I don't know if it's something to do with the curse, because I'm the only one still here. It happened just a few days after your wedding, and I tried telephones, the internet but nothing works."

"You've been on you own for over a week?" Ruby asked, concerned.

"I know some basic cooking, mom taught me. Plus the microwaves all work and the store had food. It's just been so quiet. My only hope was that you were safe because of mom's spell, and I couldn't find the cabin until it broke so I…"

The town was eerily silent as Ruby pulled up outside the diner. The three of them got out of the car and look around.

"There was no warning at all?"

Henry frowned, "I don't think so. Mom sent me here to meet grandma, I think she was going on another date with Emma."

Cora smiled at the news, "then we should try and find out where they went. Regina and Emma might have been able to notice a big spell like this coming and left some kind of message."

"Or Gold," Ruby suggested. "Something like this, if it wasn't his doing, he might have known."

"I don't want to split up. If whoever cast the spell is still in Storybrooke…"

"I think I'd have noticed someone else," Henry told them.

"Just in case. We'll go to Rumple's shop because it's closest, then figure out some kind of spell to track Regina's last movements."

Cora herded them around Storybrooke without giving them a chance to object. There was a small round mirror on the counter in Gold's shop; Henry's name was on a piece of paper beside it. They took the mirror with them, even though it didn't react to Cora's magical attempts to understand it.

They had a little more luck with tracking Regina and Emma. A trail led them back out to the woods, to their cabin. Ruby examined the area, something they hadn't bothered with after Henry showed up, and declared that there had been some kind of fight. No blood, but there was damage to a tree as if someone had been thrown against it. Cora was able to pick up traces of magic – Regina's, Emma's and a third she didn't recognise.

"We should stop for lunch," Cora said, remembering they had Henry to look after.

"But we haven't found them yet," he argued.

"Someone was stupid enough to kidnap a town which included three strong magic-users like Gold, Regina and Emma. Those three know how to take care of themselves and once they realise you aren't with them nothing will get in their way trying to get them back to you," Ruby promised him, "even if Neal has to threaten his dad to make him help."

Henry thought about that; then nodded. His mom's were tough, and his granddad powerful enough to create the curse in the first place.

* * *

While Henry was setting the table for their lunch, Cora whispered quietly to Ruby in the kitchen.

"I don't like this. We don't know if the threat is still in Storybrooke. We don't know where everyone else has gone."

"Do you think we should take Henry over the town line? He'd be safe in the outside world, safe from magic anyway."

"I think that's what Regina and Emma would want, don't you?"

"Yes," Ruby agreed.

"Then we'll find some way to track whoever Regina and Emma were fighting out there. I want to take another look at Henry's mirror, there must be some reason Rumple left it like that."

Henry burst into the kitchen, holding out the mirror, "it's mom!"

Cora and Ruby dropped what they were doing and crossed the kitchen to take a look. Regina's serious face looked back at them from the mirror, there was a smudge of dirt on her cheek and a cut over her right eyebrow. Her expression was paused, like Cora had seen on Ruby's television when they had to stop a movie or tv show.

"I was just holding the mirror, asking it to show me what happened. I think I said mom and then she appeared. When I said wait, because I wanted to bring the mirror in to show you this happened."

"If it's not in real-time maybe you just paused the message," Ruby suggested, "ask it to resume play."

"Okay. Play." Then when that didn't work, "come on mom, talk to me. Go on."

The image flickered and then Regina's face became animated and she began talking.

"Gold wants me to record this message. I don't know what he knows, but he isn't telling us everything. Henry I need you to go to Ruby's cabin and get her and my mother. You might be alone for a little while sweetie, but you're going to be okay."

"Yeah, you can take care of yourself kid," Emma's face came into view as if she had taken the mirror from Regina's hands. "We love you, and we'll see you soon."

"What's that in the background?" Ruby asked, peering closer as Emma passed the mirror back to Regina.

"Trees I think," Cora told her quickly, trying to listen to the rest of the message.

"Henry, I need you to pause this message now. The rest is for my mother and Ruby. If for any reason the spell doesn't break on the cabin, or they've disappeared too, you need to cross the town line, no arguments…." A pause then, as if she expected Henry to pause the message. "Mother, a few days after your wedding a woman showed up in town. I sensed her at the cabin, trying to break my spell. Emma and I came up here to see what was happening. She has powerful magic, stronger than mine. So far she hasn't broken that spell. Gold thinks she's planning something else, something bad for the town. We haven't got long. Gold's going to take this mirror back to his shop and protect it until you or Henry find it. It seems like an obvious place for you to begin a search if something does go wrong. Oh, one last thing – this witch, she has red hair, green eyes and calls herself Zelena. We don't know who she is, but the town may be in danger. Protect Henry, if he is still there. Do whatever it takes to keep him safe. Please."

The image of Regina vanished and the mirror showed their reflections again.

"That sounds like the woman who spoke to Emma and me after the wedding," Henry spoke up, "she said she had a present for you but you'd already left."

"Do you remember anyone from the other land called Zelena?" Ruby asked Cora.

 _Of course she did._ Cora's mouth was set in a grim line.

"She grew up in the land of Oz and they called her the Wicked Witch."

"Dorothy's Oz?" Henry sounded excited. "That wasn't in my storybook. It's real too?"

"She is also," Cora took a deep breath before continuing, looking at Ruby and hoping her wife would understand, "she is also my daughter. Regina's older half-sister."


End file.
